Starlight
by soda-denial
Summary: A simple moment shared between Nezumi and Shion in the middle of a star blanketed desert.


**Starlight**

**T**he air crisp around him, Shion stared up at the deep night sky. Never before had he seen stars so bright. Even in the great city, No. 6, there was light pollution- he could make out constellations he'd only seen in textbooks clear as day.

"Keep moving," a gruff voice demanded, tearing him from his reverie. Nezumi gave Shion's lower back a shove, causing Shion to quicken his pace.

They were on a simple re-con mission; find some parts in the desert, and return them to Inukashi. Nezumi initially refused to allow Shion to go with him, but after some begging and long stares, he finally allowed the company. The only problem was they had to go during the night, because Shion was busy working for Inukashi during the day, and Nezumi busy being Eve in the eve.

Neither party really knew exactly where they were, or where they were going (not that Nezumi would admit to this.) The darkness of the night surrounded them, with the only light coming from the lantern Nezumi had enough sense to bring. Unlike Shion, who had to keep close to Nezumi to see much of anything.

"Wait," Nezumi said, holding up a hand to signal Shion to stop walking.

He bent down suddenly, digging through some rubble at his feet.

Standing again and dusting his hands on his pants, he turned to Shion, "We're going now."

"What? Did you find what Inukashi asked for already?" Shion's eyes were wide, as he stared at his companion.

"...No," a pause, "But I found a cog similar enough- he won't even be able to tell the difference."

Shion frowned. "What if he needs the exact piece! Then he won't pay us for this!"

Nezumi sighed. "You sure are a dim-wit. Of course he will pay us for this. If he needs something more specific, then we have another job lined up already," he explained in an emotionless tone.

Shion stared at Nezumi for a moment, before slapping the metal bit out of Nezumi's hands. "Nope, we are gonna do this right. Inukashi is our friend- not to mention he gives me work almost every day, we have enough money for all the food we eat. What else do you want money for?"

Nezumi groaned internally. Lately, all conversations with Shion turned to some sort of character judgements about Nezumi. He didn't understand where Shion got this sense of entitlement to information- especially about Nezumi himself. He rolled his eyes, before turning, "I'll leave you here, if you don't follow me now."

Nezumi grabbed the cog off the ground, and began to walk in the direction they came. "Hey, wait!" Shion yelled, jogging to catch up. "I can't believe you are this parasitic to your friends."

The barbed sentence caused Nezumi to twitch slightly as he suppressed his anger. "Inukashi is a source of information and money sometimes. He is not my friend."

"How can you say he's not your friend! You guys might have a silly little rivalry, but I know you care about each oth-"

Nezumi cut him off with halted words, holding back real fury. "We. Are. Not. Friends." He stopped and whipped around to face Shion. "I am a solitary being."

The statement rang out in the cool night air, and stopped. It hung there before Shion spoke again. "Then what am I to you." It wasn't a question- Shion wasn't sure if he wanted an answer. His tone was that of defeat; that of someone who tired of the constant arguments.

The lantern's flame flickered in each of their expressions. Nezumi stared at Shion, not revealing anything on his face.

"Shion, I..." Nezumi stopped. What could he say? That one day he was afraid that Shion would become his enemy? That he couldn't get too close because of it? Nezumi swallowed hard.

Suddenly Shion looked down, hiding his expression, and returned smiling. "It's okay. I get it. I think I get it, at least." He calmly grabbed Nezumi's collar and pulled him down to his level. "One day you can explain it to me, but for now, I think I get it."

With that, Shion planted his lips on Nezumi's and remained like that for several seconds. Pulling back, he said softly, "That's what you mean to me."

Without hesitation, Nezumi grabbed Shion and held him tightly against his own body. "Shion..." his voice trailed off, as he was unable to form a response.

The embrace lasted for longer than the kiss, but seemingly not long enough for either of the boys. Their hands instantly found one another and intertwined after they released each other. Nezumi leaned down and kissed Shion's head. "Later," he said, "we can talk about this later." After a moment he added, "I promise."

Shion's grip on his hand tightened slightly, and that was all Nezumi needed. They continued walking back their small path, this time taking as long as they pleased.

Shion was once more lost in the night sky.

* * *

I always do this introspective bullshit when I write really short things. Oh well.  
I was sort of trying to catch the general feeling of the show, but I'm not too sure about the execution.  
Watched all of No. 6 last night, by the way. I'm using this as a perfect excuse to try and write drabbles again...

No beta, btw.

-Taryn


End file.
